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Homeostasis/cellular adaptation
Homeostasis/cellular adaptation
Homeostasis/cellular adaptation
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Abstract:
It is important for organisms to maintain homeostasis in order to survive. An integral component of homeostasis is thermal regulation. Two ways organisms deal with thermoregulation is through behavioral and morphological adaptations. This experiment explores the behavioral adaptation of burrowing and the morphological adaptation of adding feathers in a model organism. It is predicted that burrowing and the addition of feathers will both help maintain homeostasis through thermoregulation. This study showed that the morphological change of adding feathers aided in thermoregulation, where as burrowing did not. Burrowing might not have proved advantageous in this experiment because of flaws in experimental design.
Introduction:
Organisms attempt to keep their selves in homeostasis in order to maintain their livelihood. A major factor to homeostasis is loss of heat or heat exhaustion. The thermal environment in which an organism lives has a tremendous impact on maintaining its homeostasis. There are numerous things that an organism can do to adjust to its thermal environment. For example, an organism can move to a different microenvironment that would keep it warmer or colder. Another adaptation is that an organism can use coating such as fur or feathers to help insulate. The purpose of this experiment is to explore a behavioral and morphological change that an organism can make in order to adapt to their thermal environment. It is proposed that if an organism burrows or is covered with leaves then it will retain heat more efficiently. It is also proposed that if an organism is covered with feathers, it will retain heat more efficiently than a naked organism. This is thought because insulators, whether l...
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...ich the burrowing Peeps were buried recently experienced a rain, which effectively lowered the surrounding ground temperature. Also, the sun was out which could have warmed the naked open Peeps. Issues such as this could be resolved by following up with a more extensive and precisely executed study.
This study could be followed up by using living organisms and studying the effect of being naked or covered in feathers/fur on thermal regulation. A living model organism could more accurately display the affects of morphological changes. There could also be improvements and follow ups to the behavioral adaptations study, in looking into other behavioral adaptations or using more ideal conditions to test the adaptations. This work is important because it shows how organisms across many different types of environments are able to regulate their body temperatures.
..., Department of Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, Available from Journal of Insect Physiology. (46 (2000) 655–661)Retrieved from http://www.units.muohio.edu/cryolab/publications/documents/IrwinLee00.pdf
After results, it was concluded that isopods prefer normal temperature conditions over warm conditions. We created these environments by adding water onto filter papers with the accounted for temperature measurements. The reason for the results could be seen in a usual isopod environment, it is usually dark, fresh, and moist, and the normal water temperature being the closest to that was the reason for their choosing. The Isopods seemed to locate the appropriate environment by the use of their antennas. For the investigation the normal water and warm water temperatures were independent variables. The observations were the control. The isopods behavior served as the dependent variables. The isopod behavior would be classified as movement in response to a cooler temperature environment taxis. All in all the hypothesis, “If the isopods are exposed to normal and warm temperatures then the normal temperature will be preferred” proved to be
In the following experiment, we will attempt to examine the relationship between metabolic rate and environmental temperature in both an ectoderm and an endotherm. I predict that for the ectotherm, the metabolic rate will increase as the outside environment temperature will increase. I also predict that the metabolic rate in the endotherm will remain relatively the same as the outside environment temperature changes. I also make the prediction that the ectotherm will have much lower metabolic rates than the endotherm.
Homeostasis is the biological process that maintains a stable internal environment despite what occurs in the external environment. Chemicals and bodily functions are maintained in a balanced state so the body may function optimally. There are various systems in the human body that require maintenance through the processes of biochemical checks and balances so they may function properly. One of these systems includes the rise and fall of blood glucose and is under the control of the homeostatic regulation process. Homeostasis is essential in blood glucose regulation as high blood glucose levels (hyperglycaemia) and low blood glucose levels (hypoglycaemia) are dangerous and can affect the human body in many ways and can also lead
“The skin of amphibians is water permeable, well supplied with glands, and often colorful, with the colors and patterns of many salamanders and anurans rivaling those of brightly colored birds. It performs many functions. It protects against abrasion and pathogens, serves as a respiratory membrane, perhaps marginally so in caecilians, absorbs and releases water, provides some dry-land species during droughts with a water-loss-resistant cocoon, and through color change (in some species) a...
Hummingbirds have evolved certain behavioural and physical traits which allows for them to be more energetically efficient, such as specialized storage and digestion adaptations, feeding and flying adaptations and breathing adaptation. Hummingbirds are extremely small and their muscles for flight are highly oxygen-dependent and require large amounts of energy. Hummingbirds are one of the smallest endotherms and any energetic output can be metabolically stressful. The hummingbirds’ small body size means that they have very little room for energy storage and therefore often endure energetic and metabolic stresses. They are the one of the oldest aves, dating back to some 33 million years ago and have evolved certain energy efficient adaptations that have allowed for them to live so long. These adaptations allow Hummingbirds to efficiently meet their energetic needs which in turn, allows for them to not only survive but also continue to evolve and expand their specific niches.
Gould, Edwin, George McKay, and David Kirshner. Encyclopedia of Mammals. San Francisco, CA: Fog City, 2003. Print.
“Animals are adapted to their conditions in subtle and marvelous ways (Boyd, R., & Silk, J. 1997:2).” It is commonly recognized that Darwin identified adaptations through Natural Selection: traits that are advantageous to survival will be retained in the population through reproduction. Natural Selection further indicates that traits will survive when they are most beneficial to an individual’s fitness. While Natural Selection and Mutation effectively explains adaptive fitness qualities and variance among populations, it fails to explain species beautiful ornamental traits that are not necessarily beneficial to fitness. The extravagant tails of a male peacocks, the neck of a giraffe, and bright colored plumage of birds are attributes designed to maximize reproductive success. Muscularity, sexual dimorphism (general size difference between sexes), male beards, penis size, calculated fat storage (in the breasts and hips for women), and co-parenting are adaptations in humans explained through sexual selection: specifically, through competition. Natural and Sexual Selection are competing and paralleling factors that define human evolution. While Natural Selection may define the necessity to impart certain genes, Sexual Selection quickly allows adaptations to occur through competition. Evolution
Numerous scientists have been researching on the Arctic Fox, to learn about the creature’s habits and unusual and unique adapt...
They had similar features to today’s apes, such as a hairy body. The purpose of the vast amount of hair is to protect the body from the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays and to prevent overheating, mainly by acting as a barrier for the skin underneath the hair (Jablonski, 598). Some parts of the body, such as palms, were not covered with hair, but with sweat glands. Sweat glands allowed the body to cool off via evaporation at the surface of the skin; sweat glands were more efficient at thermoregulation. Over time, early humans with a high amount of sweat glands were selected since they had the best method at the time to keep themselves cool in warm environments (Kirchweger).
For years studies and observations have been made on the relationship between body size and physical orientation of an animal. In 1847 Carl Bergmann was one of the first to do observations with this phenomenon (Dictionary of Theories 2002). Bergmann noticed that warm-blooded animals living at climates high in latitude are bigger in size than those living in climates of lower latitudes (Dictionary of Theories 2002). Research has shown there is a correlation of surface area to volume in animals that are located in different parts of the globe. Animals living in a cooler climate have a larger volume, but decreased surface area to retain as much body heat as possible. The inverse is true for animals living in warmer regions; these animals have a smaller volume and larger surface area to allow the body to cool efficiently (McNab 1971). Bergmann’s rule has brought valuable insight into the study of character traits and how we identify where animals originated. One example that I came across is with the Andean passerine bird, a study was done in 1991 by G. R. Graves. He noticed the size of ...
... increases the surface area of the body for optimal cooling, and the ASIAN EYE FOLD possessed by Asian and Inuit peoples of Mongolian descent effectively helps protect the eyes from the freezing winds and strongly reflected solar radiation found in Arctic climates. This later example demonstrates the other side of evolutionary adaptations – that they are just as gradually lost as they are acquired, and may in fact become maladaptive if the climate warms or the people migrate to warmer environments.
The polar bear has a long, narrower head and nose, and small ears. The polar bear has coat that appears white but, each individual hair is actually a clear and hollow. This helps the polar bear keep warm. The polar bear's coat helps it blend in with its snowy surroundings, this adaptation helps the Polar Bear hide while hunting. The polar bear's front legs are slightly pigeon-toed, and fur covers the bottoms of its paws. These adaptations help the polar bear keep them from slipping on ice.
Evolution is a theory that argues that all organisms alive on earth today share a common ancestor. It is thought that through generations, specific changes or adaptations were established in species in order to help them survive, reproduce, and raise offspring. But how are we certain that these changes occurred? Today, there is an abundant amount of research evidence that suggests that anatomical and physiological alterations occurred to species that caused them to turn from aquatic animals to terrestrial animals, allowing them to survive different environmental conditions. The following are several gradual changes an aquatic organism must go through in order to move to land and adjust to its new terrestrial habitat: circulatory and most importantly respiratory systems must be improved, structural adaptations should be modified, development of a skeletal system to protect the body and organs, and an adjustment of the senses must also occur.
Adaptation is a feature of an organism that enables it to live in a particular habitat. Adaptation involves both structural as well as functional changes. Birds lead an aerial mode of life. To lead a successful aerial mode of life, birds have undergone various modifications. These modifications are known as ‘flight adaptations. Flight adaptations involve morphological, anatomical as well as embryological modifications.